There is a long-wheelbase sedan version of the Audi A7 liftback coming to China soon, and this is what it looks like without the usual disguise.
The marque’s international sales took a hit last year, declining by 8.3% (down to 1,692,773 units). At the same time, sales in China rose 5.4% to a record-breaking 727,258 units. No wonder Audi is so eager to introduce new and special models on that market, including stretched variants of the A3, A4, A6, Q2, and Q5.
The A7 L sedan joins the list now to go on sale simultaneously with the liftback it is based upon (watch the video for the latter). It is reported to be around 5.1 meters long with a wheelbase spanning between 3,018 and 3,028 mm. The sedan has around 100 mm less spacing between the axles.
Powertrains will include a turbo four-pot available in 190 PS (187 hp / 140 kW) and 245 PS (242 hp / 180 kW) forms, as well as a 3.0-liter turbo-six good for 340 PS (335 hp / 250 kW). A seven-speed S tronic transmission will send the momentum to the wheels, but AWD will be reserved for the top trim only.
The liftback uses its 2.0-liter engine to hit 100 km/h (62 mph) in between 7 and 8.3 seconds. The stretched sedan will probably be heavier and slightly slower than that. The top speed should be capped at 250 km/h (155 mph), as usual.
The production should take place at the SAIC-VW joint factory, with sales set to begin later this year. Prices remain to be announced; the liftback version starts from 573,800 Yuan in China. Once the A7 L hits the market, it will be facing competition from the BMW 8 Gran Coupe and the Mercedes-Benz CLS.